Clean cat litter boxes every day. Pregnant women should avoid touching cat litter, because it may contain bacteria, viruses, or parasites. These can lead to infectious diseases that cause birth defects, including toxoplasmosis.

Use a device or bag to remove your dog's feces from your yard or public areas. Dispose of the feces in an appropriate container.

Washing hands is especially important after handling reptiles, because reptiles may harbor a bacteria called salmonella. Salmonella can cause salmonellosis. This causes severe diarrhea, fever, and belly cramps. Most people who contract salmonella will have symptoms that last from 4 to 7 days and will recover without treatment.

Keep children away from areas with dog or cat feces. This will help prevent the spread of roundworms and hookworms.

Be certain to cover sandboxes so cats don't use them as litter boxes.

Wild animals and infectious diseases

Wild animals and insects can be carriers for some very serious diseases. These include rabies, tetanus, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, hantavirus, and the plague. Do not let your child feed or try to play with any wild animals (such as squirrels, chipmunks, or raccoons). Never leave a child less than 5 years of age alone around any animal—wild or domestic. Animal bites and scratches, even when they are minor, may become infected and spread bacteria to other parts of the body. Whether the bite is from a family pet or an animal in the wild, scratches and bites may carry disease. Cat scratches, for example, even from a kitten, may carry "cat scratch disease," a bacterial infection. Bites and/or scratches that break the skin are even more likely to become infected.

Immediate care for animal bites

Here is what to do:

Wash the wound with soap and water under pressure from a faucet. Do not scrub, as this bruises the tissue.

If the bite or scratch is bleeding, apply pressure to it with a clean bandage or towel to stop the bleeding.

Dry the wound and cover it with a sterile dressing. Do not use tape or butterfly bandages to bring the edges of the wound together. They can trap harmful bacteria in the wound.

Call your healthcare provider for guidance in reporting the attack and to determine whether additional treatment, such as antibiotics, a tetanus booster, or rabies vaccine is needed.

If possible, locate the animal that inflicted the wound. Some animals need to be captured, confined, and observed for rabies. Do not try to capture the animal yourself. Instead, contact the nearest animal warden or animal control office in your area.

If the animal cannot be found, if the animal was a high-risk species or the animal attack was unprovoked, the victim may need a series of rabies shots.

What is rabies?

Rabies is a widespread, viral infection of warm-blooded animals. Caused by a virus in the Rhabdoviridae family, it attacks the nervous system and, once symptoms develop, is virtually 100% fatal in animals.

In North America, rabies happens primarily in skunks, raccoons, foxes, and bats. In some areas, these wild animals infect domestic cats, dogs, and livestock. In the United States, cats are more likely than dogs to be rabid. Generally, rabies is rare in small rodents, such as beavers, chipmunks, squirrels, rats, mice, or hamsters. Rabies is also rare in rabbits. In the mid-Atlantic states, where rabies is increasing in raccoons, woodchucks (groundhogs) can be rabid.

How does rabies happen?

The rabies virus enters the body via the animal's saliva either through a cut or scratch, or through mucous membranes (such as the lining of the mouth and eyes), and travels to the central nervous system. Once the infection is established in the brain, the virus travels down the nerves from the brain and multiplies in different organs.

The salivary glands and organs are most important in the spread of rabies from one animal to another. When an infected animal bites another animal, the rabies virus is transmitted through the infected animal's saliva. Scratches by claws of rabid animals are also dangerous because these animals lick their claws.

What are the symptoms of rabies?

The incubation period in humans from the time of exposure to the onset of illness can range anywhere from 5 days to more than a year. The average incubation period is about 2 months. The following are the most common symptoms of rabies:

Pain, tingling, or numbness around the wound site

Low-grade fever

Headache

Appetite loss

Intense thirst, but drinking will induce painful throat spasms

Restlessness

Hyperactivity

Disorientation

Seizures

Symptoms of rabies may look like other medical conditions and problems. Always talk with your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

Preventing rabies

Teach young children to never walk toward or try to touch an unknown animal. Be certain to have your cats and dogs vaccinated against rabies. If you have other types of pets, ask your veterinarian if they need a rabies vaccine. Keep your animals in a fenced yard or on a leash. Make sure the animal wears its rabies vaccine tag with its vaccine history, name, and your contact information.